Staff Writer
BANGOR – With just six seconds remaining in overtime, Presque Isle and Camden Hills fans cheered on their teams in the final action of a classic tourney nail-biter in Wednesday’s Class B semifinal.
The Wildcats blistered to their end of the court, still one down from the Windjammers 61-60 and made a last-ditch shot that just missed and ended the boys’ basketball season.
Camden Hills tied up the score in regulation time at 54 points with 29 seconds remaining. Dillon Kingsbury attempted a long-shot to claim the victory for the Big Blue, but the shot sailed over the backboard.
The Windjammers won the overtime tipoff, but PIHS quickly regained possession and missed their first basket attempt. Camden Hills broke into OT scoring with a layup by freshman Graham Safford.
Back on the blue end, Adam Kingsbury pulled a foul and sank one on the line to make the score 56-55 Camden. With the one-point advantage, the Windjammers held the ball to waste some time then drilled in a layup and made a shot on the foulline. Nate Ackerson put PIHS back in the game with his own layup and foul shot.
A. Kingsbury followed suit with another two points to put the Wildcats back on top, but Camden Hills found a way in for the last basket to move on to the Eastern Maine finals.
“We were happy to get this far,” said senior Bennett Cassidy after the game. “No one really gave us a chance in that game, but everyone really stepped it up. Especially, Adam Kingsbury; he really carried us.”
The Wildcats led all through regulation time until the final minutes of the fourth quarter despite the Windjammers’ aggressive pressure and outside shooting.
In the first quarter, Camden Hills made the first basket but the remainder of the quarter featured the Wildcat force.
A. Kingsbury, D. Kingsbury, Ackerson and Russ Mortland all contributed to the scoreboard as PIHS went up 16-10 and shot 100 percent on the line.
PIHS stayed ahead in the second, but the Windjammers had gained ground draining shots beyond the three-point arc to end just three points behind, 30-27.
“We tried to bottle up the middle, but they just made one too many threes,” said head coach Tim Prescott about the CH long-shooters.
The third quarter featured a fumble of turnovers as both teams pressured each other beyond the halfcourt trying to regain possession.
“They’re very good at what they do,” noted Prescott. “They let you get the ball on the floor where you’re a little more comfortable and then they start to cause you problems.”
The CH defensive fervor hit boiling point in the fourth quarter as the Windjammers worked desperately to bring themselves back to the top.
The game turned into a foulline battle as members of both teams took turns looking down the free throw alley.
“Our kids played their hearts out, and I’m just the proudest guy in America right now,” said Prescott.
Mortland sank 14 points, and A. Kingsbury slammed up 31 points to lead the Big Blue team.
“He plays exactly like he is,” commented Prescott on his senior center. “He’s like an assistant coach.”
Kingsbury had suggested a defensive swap to catch CH off guard as the Windjammers began to find strategies to penetrate the zone defense PIHS had favored to stop the red team onslaught. While the Wildcats step out of the 2008 tourney, they gave their final opponent a lot of trouble getting through.
“We all have our roles and I think this is the thing that makes us overachieve, although we don’t think of it as overachieving,” said Cassidy. “We all know our roles and we’ve all been playing together for a long time.”
The Wildcat boys’ varsity ended their season with a 17-4 record.
Steve Carmichael, Nic Gallant, Cassidy, A. Kingsbury and Elizan McLean will graduate in June.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson
PIHS SENIOR ADAM KINGSBURY attempts to power past his Camden Hills defender during last Wednesday’s Eastern Maine semifinal at the Bangor Auditorium. Kingsbury captained the Wildcats with 31 points in the Class B game.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson
RUSS MORTLAND attempts to keep possession of the basketball while his Camden Hills defender reaches in for a steal during the Eastern Maine semifinal.
